Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as crude oil prices slid on the back of a strong U.S dollar.
The S&P/TSX Composite was 2.88 points north of breakeven to close Tuesday at 14,684.85. September futures sank 0.1% early Wednesday
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.15 cents to 76.24 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Twin Butte Energy debenture holders, who on Monday rejected a takeover bid by Reignwood Resources Holding, have reportedly made an alternative proposal on the deal to the Canadian oil producer's special committee.
NBF raised the target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $77.00 from $76.00 with an outperform rating
Barclays upped the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $63.00 from $60.00, with an equal-weight rating
National Bank Financial increased the target price on Crew Energy to $8.50 from $7.50, with an outperform rating.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported gross domestic product decreased 0.4% in the second quarter, after increasing 0.6% in the first quarter. This was the largest decline in quarterly GDP since the second quarter of 2009. The agency also says real GDP rose 0.6% in June, essentially offsetting an equivalent decline in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 15.58 points Tuesday to 790.35
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are little changed on the last day of August and global markets are mixed.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 16 points to 18,428, while futures for the S&P 500 faded 1.75 points at 2,173.5. NASDAQ futures lost 3.5 points at 4,772.50.
Shares in Apple are flat pre-market, after closing down 0.8% on Tuesday. The company was hit by a $14.6-billion U.S. tax bill by the European Union.
The ruling by the European Commission has already sparked a transatlantic war of words, with the White House calling it "a transfer of revenue from U.S. taxpayers to the EU."
The Irish government, which was ordered by the EU to recover the unpaid tax from Apple, meets to decide its next steps at 6.30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
H&R Block shares shed 6% during extended trading after the company issued a quarterly earnings update on Tuesday afternoon.
Private space exploration company Orbital ATK will post earnings ahead of the open. After the close, reports are due from Salesforce.com, Shoe Carnival, and Five Below.
An update on U.S. crude oil inventories is due this morning.
U.S. payroll processor ADP released employment statistics this morning. The data will give a good indication on what to expect from the hotly anticipated jobs report on Friday.
Euro-zone annual inflation was 0.2% in August, a weaker reading than analysts were expecting. Unemployment across the bloc was 10.1% in July, unchanged from June.
European markets are mostly flat in early trading. London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX opened slightly lower. Asian markets ended the session mixed.
Oil prices settled 46 cents to $45.89 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $2.10 to $1,314.40 U.S. an ounce.
